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Change Is Necessary -- That's the Big Deal

By Talia Buford
Black College Wire

Talia Buford

Two weeks after the Oct. 22 issue of the Hampton Script was confiscated by Hampton University administration, people still come up to me asking the same questions.

"Why didn't you just print the letter on the front page?" they say. "What's the big deal?"

The big deal is that 6,500 copies of the Hampton Script were taken from our offices and destroyed by the administration. The reason? Because we didn't place a memo by Dr. JoAnn Haysbert, acting president and provost, on the front page as she requested.

You've got to be kidding.

I can honestly say that in my 20 years on this Earth, I have never seen a memo on the front page of any reputable publication. On the Opinions page, yes. Page One, no. Not to mention that my staff and I worked too hard on that issue for it never to reach our readers.

Too many times on this campus, we sit idly by and refuse to stand up for ourselves; we refuse to fight for what we believe in. Whether we're scared of the administration or just apathetic to the problems we encounter, we never push for change. We become comfortable with the way things have always been. We become complacent.

As Hamptonians, we pay upward of $18,000 to attend this illustrious institution. As consumers of education, don't we have the right to use our product as we see fit? In the Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications, students learn the inner workings of their craft. From writing an article to practicing journalistic integrity, nothing is left behind. For many of those students, and those of other majors who want to practice their writing skills, the newspaper is one of their only outlets.

In his essay "Areopagitica," philosopher John Milton writes, "He who destroys a good book, kills reason itself, kills the image of God, as it were in the eye." It's funny that at this "teaching, learning institution," where we are learning how to be reasonable, responsible citizens, students are not allowed to practice the things they pay to learn.

The First Amendment to the Bill of Rights clearly states: "Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press. . . " If it's good enough for the Congress of the most powerful nation in the world, isn't it good enough for Hampton University? Or is it when we cross onto Tyler Street that our freedom of speech, press and all other things guaranteed by our nation's government are just not important enough to be practiced here. Who needs free speech when we have administrators to can tell us what is right and wrong?

As future alumni, we love our "Home by the Sea." We want to see it prosper and grow. But that growth cannot occur if, in 2003, we are still operating by the same rules followed by students in 1868. Change has to occur and it has to be welcomed if we want to see Hampton elevated to the status it holds in our hearts.

Talia Buford, a student at Hampton University, is editor in chief of The Hampton Script.

Posted Nov. 4, 2003